Part I Introductory Chapters, 4 Central Concepts in the Paris Agreement and How They Evolved

Subject(s):

Developing countries — Climate change — Environmental disputes — General principles of international law

This chapter introduces the core conceptual pillars which were at the heart of the four-year negotiations for the Paris Agreement. These are: the ambition of global efforts to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, differentiation between developed and developing countries, and the provision and mobilization of support for climate change efforts. These core conceptual pillars formed the subject of dedicated Ministerial engagement convened by the French Presidency in the second week in Paris. Thus the chapter asserts that the Paris Agreement strikes a fine balance between ambition, differentiation, and support to deliver an agreement acceptable to all Parties. Similarly, the Paris Agreement pays attention to dynamic, sensitive to political, scientific, and technological advances and national capacities, circumstances, and constraints.